Madden Gamers Getting Warmed Up

The hype is gearing up for Madden 09. The latest installment of the sports gaming world's biggest franchise won't hit store shelves until August 12, but excitement about the gridiron goliath is bubbling up.

If you're a hardcore Madden-ite, you're bound to be interested in the new relative strength rankings of each NFL squad. For true Madden devotees, the QB ratings featured in this year's edition will likely whet your appetite for game action.

We were curious about the trajectory of Madden 09's popularity and Google Trends shows the game on an uptick over the last couple of weeks...

Madden 09 scored big in searches when Brett Favre was announced as this year's cover boy. We looked at a graph for the past year's worth of searches and the game peaked when Favre's cover shot was announced. We're sure this peak will be topped as we get closer to the release date, but it's a great sign for EA...

Another great sign for EA is the way the franchise tops itself year after year in searches. A graph of the last four years of Madden searches shows interest in the game rises with each year's edition. Witness the peaks below...

Madden 09 may be just a blue smudge toward the edge of the graph right now, but with the powerful trend (and Brett Favre) on its side, we expect it will generate even more interest than previous editions by the time August rolls around.